Harry Potter and the Evil Mokeskin Pouch
Summary: Why doesn't Harry simply put Slytherin's Locket with the Horcrux in his Mokeskin pouch instead of carrying it around his neck all the time? Here's why. OOC. Not for Ron fans!
Harry sighed contently as he let himself fall onto the couch in the tent next to Hermione. Thanks to the girl's brilliant idea to put Slytherin's cursed locked into Harry's Mokeskin pouch, they were finally no longer bothered by the Horcrux's oppressive presence.
Hermione and Ron, who sat in the armchair in front of them, also seemed more content than they had been for weeks.
Harry was glad for it, as Ron especially had been acting in an increasingly rude and inconsiderate manner over the last days, and it had seemed inevitable that the tension between them would soon erupt in a major fight.
Their peace and quiet was interrupted by a low, rumbling sound that had all three of them looking up startled.
"What was that?" Harry asked.
"Ron's hungry," Hermione said with an eye-roll.
"No, that wasn't me," Ron insisted. "I think that came from the shelf with the Mokeskin pouch…"
"Don't be ridiculous," Hermione said dismissively, but Ron got up and stepped towards the shelf.
There was another rumbling sound, clearly coming from the shelf this time.
"Did it- did it just move?" Ron asked nervously and stared at the pouch.
"I'm not sure," Harry said. "Do you reckon we should remove the locket from it?"
"Maybe…" Hermione said pensively.
Ron reached for the Mokeskin pouch but pulled back his hand when the bag visibly shivered, its opening quivering and giving off a sound that sounded almost like a growl, before it stilled again.
"Yes, yes, I think we should definitely remove the horcrux from it," Hermione said with a shaky voice.
Harry watched on as Ron very carefully extended his arm again, but when his fingers touched the surface of the pouch, all hell broke loose.
With a roar, the opening of the bag expanded widely, the bag catapulted itself forward and captured Ron's arm up to his elbow within its depth.
Hermione shot up from the couch with a horrified shriek.
"RON!"
Ron was frantically waving his arm, trying to shake off the bag, while he screamed in horror, "AAAHH, GET IT OFF, GET IT-"
The bag hissed, it opened its "jaws" even further, and propelled itself forward again. It enveloped Ron's entire arm, then his head and torso, muffling his high-pitched screams, and finally jumped forward again to swallow up his floundering legs, too.
"OH MY GOD, IT ATE RON!" Hermione screamed.
Harry just stood next to the couch, frozen in shock.
Within less than five seconds, Ron had been completely swallowed by the bag.
The Mokeskin pouch had immediately returned to its original size. Now, it innocently lay on the floor, giving off a content burp, before it started hopping towards the exit of the tent.
"Hermione, we have to destroy it!" Harry shouted, coming out of his stupor.
"But- but Ron-"
"He's dead. He died a noble death, the best we can do is honour his sacrifice and make sure that the bag and the horcrux don't escape," Harry stated solemnly and drew his wand.
"Confringo!"
The Mokeskin bag exploded into a thousand tiny pieces just as it passed the exit of the tent.
Harry noted with some satisfaction that he had just discovered a new way to destroy Horcruxes, though it couldn't quite console him over the loss of his first friend. Ron had been a right git over the last weeks, but it was still sad to see him go.
Harry turned around towards Hermione, who stood a few steps behind him. She would surely need his help to cheer up again, after what they had just witnessed.
The brunette was staring with wide eyes at the exit of the tent, her jaw gaping. But she didn't exactly appear distressed or grief-stricken, rather shocked and surprised, though she did seem a bit upset, too.
There was a long silence between the two remaining teens.
"Huh..." Hermione then mumbled quietly, her posture unchanging.
"Yeah..." Harry replied.
"That..."
"I know..."
"He..."
"I know..."
"And then..."
"I know..."
There was another long pause.
"Well..." Hermione then muttered and finally turned her eyes away from the tent exit, shaking her head slightly, "that wasn't exactly a dignified way to go..."
"I suppose..." Harry allowed.
Hermione looked at Harry, slightly arching her left eyebrow at him.
"A noble death?" she repeated what he had said earlier.
Harry shrugged his shoulders.
"He died fighting a monster?" he suggested.
"Except that he didn't fight, he just screamed like a little girl," Hermione reminded him.
"Fair enough," Harry conceded.
"We maybe should have helped him, though..." Hermione then said with a slightly contrite look.
"We probably should have..." Harry agreed.
"It all happened terribly fast, though..." Hermione said.
"That it did..." Harry agreed again.
"So..." Hermione said and walked back to the couch, slumping onto it with a sigh. "What now?".
"Well..." Harry said and sat down next to her, giving her a lopsided grin, "I can't help but notice that it's only the two of us left now..."
Hermione gave him a blank look. "Yes."
"So... I was wondering if you would maybe like to go to Hogsmeade with me sometime?" he asked nervously.
"Why would we go- Wait, are you asking me out on a date less than five minutes after Ron died?" Hermione asked, aghast.
"Er, well, yes, I suppose I am," Harry admitted, a bit embarrassed.
"Oh..." Hermione muttered. "All right then."
"I mean, Ron would've wanted us to be happy, and we should- Wait! Did you just say yes?"
"I suppose I did," Hermione replied with a coy smile.
"Wow..." Harry mumbled, a wide grin forming on his lips, and he leaned closer towards the girl, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Hogsmeade isn't exactly safe for us right now, though..." he said.
"No, it really isn't," Hermione replied with a low voice and also moved to closer to him. "Maybe... maybe we should just skip that part and get to the making out part already."
"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," Harry whispered back and fully closed the distance between them, bringing his lips crashing down on hers.
Their kiss soon deepened, and their hands soon started to wander, and when Hermione moaned in his mouth a short while later, Harry knew for sure that he had – surprisingly quickly – found a way to cheer her up again. And he would try his very best to cheer her up much more as the evening continued.